App Performance Management Rollout: "Big Bang" a Big Mistake

Transcription

1 App Performance Management Rollout: Big Bang a Big Mistake Regardless of what APM vendors say, there is no one solution that can solve an enterprise's APM needs. Implement APM slowly and be prepared to adopt a best-of-breed approach that will ensure a solid APM process is in place. Info-Tech Research Group is a professional services firm dedicated to providing premium research and objective advice to IT managers of mid-sized enterprises, serving more than 25,000 clients worldwide. Our purpose is to provide practical and thorough solutions that enable IT managers to bridge the gap between technology and business. Introduction....2 IT Must Get Ahead of the Game.. 3 What is APM? Slow and Steady Wins the Race (North America) (International) Info-Tech Research Group, Recommendations i Bottom Line..5

2 Application Performance Management (APM) is an evolutionary process that requires a best-of-breed of different monitoring tools. Adopting a long-term strategy is the best way to ensure IT maintains a high quality of application performance in the enterprise. Move slowly and start with low-hanging fruit. 2

3 App Performance Management Rollout: Big Bang a Big Mistake IT shops typically manage a mixed environment consisting of legacy systems, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, multiple servers, and diverse network components. Just keeping these disparate systems and components working together smoothly was sufficient for most enterprises; however, enterprise attitudes have changed. Enterprises are now unwilling to tolerate any level of network slowdown or performance impediment. IT departments that wait for their end users' calls to identify performance bottlenecks significantly hamper business productivity and quickly lose credibility within the enterprise. Using only tools that reactively identify application or network problems is insufficient. IT must move from the firefighting stance to a more proactive position by using APM. Application Performance Management Series This is the first research note in a series discussing APM. Future notes will discuss the following topics: Trigger points for APM adoption. Building the right APM architecture. APM vendor evaluation. A complete APM solution monitors each layer of the network and application stack. It rolls all the data up into a single data resource and identifies performance issues through correlation and predictive analysis. Although vendors refer to APM as a solution, it is more of a process than a product. APM consists of four main components or phases: Application Management Component/Phase Agent/Monitor Event Management Correlation Analysis Description This is the fundamental component of APM. Most enterprises start monitoring their networks when first implementing APM. Agents/monitors can observe any network or application component and gather data based on any metrics set by the administrator. The second phase of implementing APM is deploying an event manager. This component collects all data sent from the agents, translates them into a common format, and normalizes the data for further analysis. At this point, enterprises can roll their own reporting tools, or implement a correlation analyzer. Identifies which components are responsible for a given performance bottleneck. Correlation analysis uses vendorsupplied correlation models and a configuration management database. This is a substantial investment and the point at which decision makers should consider a best-of-breed approach to ensure that the enterprise gets the desired depth of analysis. 3

4 Predictive Analysis Identifies conditions that will likely lead to performance degradation. Ideally, this component should monitor all applications and network components within the enterprise and provide an intuitive interface to the resulting data under a single pane of glass. In reality, such a component does not exist, and IT managers must integrate data from multiple screens to get the information they need. Using a best-of-breed approach helps the enterprise ensure that it has the reporting and analytical capabilities it requires.!! Each phase of APM brings unique challenges because there are multiple approaches to application management. Attempting a big bang implementation is rarely affordable. It is also unlikely to be maintainable. This is because the enterprise will only become aware of its true performance issues during the APM rollout. As a result, APM customization becomes necessary and these changes to the software puts the solution outside of the vendor's product roadmap. Given this state of affairs, Info-Tech strongly recommends that IT shops use a multi-vendor staged APM implementation. 1. Size does matter for SMEs. Smaller enterprises with limited resources should look to monitoring tools and systems before considering an APM. These solutions require IT departments to have an established infrastructure and mature processes in place. Small IT shops with minimal monitoring or management capabilities will be unable to maximize on the benefits of APM. 2. Start with anecdotal evidence. Enterprises without established APM solutions should use existing anecdotal performance issues to help define their performance management strategy. This serves the additional purpose of determining if the enterprise really requires APM. Some issues that enterprises commonly face include: o Database performance problems. A common issue IT faces is that the database falters when some unknown number of database connections occur per database instance. The database connection issue is a symptom of a configuration problem and does not require an APM solution. Another problem is that some queries take an inordinate amount of resources or a long time to complete. Query performance issues must be resolved without relying on APM software. Use internal DBA expertise to help resolve these issues. If internal expertise is lacking, then bring in an external consultant. o Server load problems. Too many users hitting a server at once can severely affect performance. Instead of the server degrading gracefully under the load, there is a visible and almost simultaneous slowdown when the load exceeds some unknown level. This problem is solvable without an APM solution, but other server issues like load balancing will benefit from an APM. 4

5 o Network availability. This problem occurs when crucial applications reside on unstable parts of the network, or IT is unable to support the network infrastructure consistently. Before looking to APM, enterprises should ensure their basic infrastructure is well supported and reliable. Only after the network is reliable and fully supported should IT managers look to APM solutions to enhance performance. 3. Ensure the applications are written efficiently and have a minimal number of defects. APM cannot solve performance issues that arise from poorly written or bug-riddled applications. IT managers must ensure that all applications are performing at an acceptable level before considering APM. IT shops with COTS applications should perform robust benchmarking and performance analysis as part of their beta testing process. For custom-built and third-party applications, create Service Level Agreements (SLAs) that identify the acceptable defect levels and performance criteria the application must meet while deployed within the infrastructure. 4. Work with business managers to determine the appropriate level of monitoring. Application performance needs vary across the business units in the enterprise. As a result, some managers will have minimal performance needs, while others will have significant performance requirements. To avoid collecting either too much or too little data, work with business managers to prioritize applications and set SLAs. Use this information to set appropriate monitoring levels. 5. Investigate the bigger market players first. The APM market is still undergoing significant changes. Established vendors like BMC, CA, IBM, and HP are purchasing smaller players in an effort to provide one-stop solutions or forming partnerships. After considering the larger players, look to other vendors like Entuity, Mercury Interactive, Micromuse, NetIQ, NetScout, and ProactiveNet for solutions that may provide more specific and cost-effective solutions. 6. Don't expect APM to solve the problem. APM software identifies problem areas in application performance, but problem resolution remains the responsibility of the administrator. Decision makers looking for APM solutions should be aware of the limitations of these systems and be prepared to assign administrative resources to deal with the issues that arise. # Regardless of what APM vendors say, there is no one solution that can solve an enterprise's APM needs. Implement APM slowly and be prepared to adopt a best-ofbreed approach that will ensure a solid APM process is in place. 5